Carb-conscious Americans continued to flatten Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, as the onetime Wall Street darling yesterday posted a loss of $3 million in the third quarter.

That bad news sent the stock reeling 16 percent – or to just above the $7 price of a dozen assorted sweet things.

The struggling doughnut chain has lost more than 75 percent of its market value since last year as people have suddenly stayed away from the glazed treats in droves, and opted for healthier snacks.

As a result, each Krispy Kreme store has seen $10,000 a week in revenue waddle out the door, a drop of some 16 percent.

In the quarter, the country’s No. 2 doughnut maker – with 393 stores and a large wholesale business to supermarkets and other retailers – lost 5 cents a share compared with a profit of 23 cents a share, or $14.5 million, last year. Revenue at stores opened at least a year fell 6.4 percent.

Caught in the middle of the disaster is the McAleer family, which purchased the underperforming chain from Beatrice Foods in 1982.

Joseph McAleer Jr., the son of the patriarch who did the deal, saw his Krispy Kreme holding shrink from $107 million at its peak to $20 million yesterday.

The company, apparently caught by surprise by the sudden downturn in its fortunes, has removed its 15 percent revenue increase forecast it made three months ago.

It has not given Wall Street any new guidance.

In addition, after its conference call to announce third-quarter results, Krispy Kreme refused to take questions from analysts, which left Wall Street further in the dark.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based chain is being hurt by an overstuffed retail- and secondary-market pipeline, the result of way-too-aggressive expansion plans.

Under that plan, Krispy Kreme responded to wildly successful doughnut shop sales by adding sales to supermarket and shipments to smaller retailers. But when sales flattened, wholesale-shipment revenue fell steeper than those from retail stores.

“The company is out of control and they are not giving guidance,” said David Rocker, managing partner at Rocker Partners LLC, who has a short position on the shares. “You have rising debt, falling equity and particularly falling same-stores sales.”

Shares yesterday closed at $9.64, off $1.86.

With Post wire services

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Glazed and confused

Krispy Kreme, the doughnut maker and onetime Wall Street darling, is falling fast. After posting a third-quarter loss, it declined to give an earnings or a sales forecast. Its unappetizing timeline:

May 2004: Reports first loss, on closure of Montana Mills business

Oct. 2004: SEC launches formal probe on accounting practices

Yesterday: Same-store sales fall 6.4 percent

Yesterday: Shares decline to $9.64, off 81 percent from its $49.74 high